Kazakhs in Kazakhstan in the second half of the twentieth century: fertility in the context of socio-economic development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2025.4.23Keywords:
Kazakhstan; Kazakhs; birth rate; migration; demographic relations; ethnic differentiation; urbanizationAbstract
The article analyzes the specific features of birth rate processes among the Kazakh population, which developed because of the socioeconomic realities prevailing in the Kazakh SSR during the 1950s–1980s. The methodological framework of this study is based on the concept of demographic modernization.
The migration influx from Soviet republics in the 1950s–1960s led to ethnic differentiation in settlement patterns and economic activity. The Kazakh population was concentrated in rural areas, while the industrial and urban development of the republic was directed primarily by the non-titular population, above all Russians. One of the consequences of this division was divergent demographic trends between the Kazakh and Russian ethnic groups.
The article characterizes the unique demographic relationships that formed among Kazakhs in rural settings. It highlights the reasons for the preservation of high fertility and presents supporting statistical data. The authors suggest that the demographic peculiarities of the Kazakhs — culminating in a demographic boom in the 1950s–1960s — were largely the result of an “artificial polyethnicity” rapidly created by the Soviet state.
The out-migration of the Slavic-European population, intensive urbanization, and the gradual filling of urban social niches by the autochthonous (Kazakh) component led to the growing influence of urban settings on demographic behaviors. This manifested in a noticeable birth rate decline among Kazakh youth in the 1970s–1980s.
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For citation:
Krasnobayeva N. L., Aubakirova Zh. S. and Alekseenko A. N. Kazakhs in Kazakhstan in the second half of the twentieth century: fertility in the context of socio-economic development. New Research of Tuva, 2025, no. 4, pp. 436-450. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2025.4.23
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Author Biographies
Nelli L. Krasnobayeva, D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher, International Research Center “Digital Social Research”, East Kazakhstan Technical University named after D. Serikbaev.
Postal address: 19 Serikbayeva St., Ust-Kamenogorsk, 070000, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: krasn_nelli@mail.ru
Zhanna S. Aubakirova, D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head, International Research Center “Digital Social Research”, East Kazakhstan Technical University named after D. Serikbaev.
Postal address: 19 Serikbayeva St., Ust-Kamenogorsk, 070000, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: zhanna_aubakirova707@inbox.ru
Aleksandr N. Alekseenko, D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher, East Kazakhstan Technical University named after D. Serikbaev.
Postal address: 19 Serikbayeva St., Ust-Kamenogorsk, 070000, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: alalexeenko56@gmail.com
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